We are interested in how Australian parents, grandparents, and caregivers manage emotions relating to climate change and major weather events, for themselves and their families. The information we collect will be used to develop resources to help parents and support organisations to combat climate anxiety.
We will be using interviews and a photo-film compilation to help understand parents’ and grandparents’ experiences and emotions around climate change and climate-related weather events.
Our study also looks at climate anxiety management across generations and climate histories.
We aim to produce information about these phenomena, and to gather and distribute documentary (photo and video) resources to help parents and support organisations to combat climate anxiety.
What's involved?
We are asking participants to take part in an interview either in person or via Teams/Zoom. The interview will take approximately 30-60 minutes.
During the interview we will ask you questions about your history, experiences, and emotions related to climate change and extreme weather events.
Complete an expression of interest
We are also interested in photo and video content that helps tell participants’ climate stories. Participants will be given an opportunity to contribute to the (optional) Photo-Film Compilation in a number of different ways.
Who can be involved?
We would like to talk with people who:
- Are at least 18 years old
- Are a parent, grandparent, or regular caregiver of a child aged 0-25 years (the child does not need to live with you)
- Live (or have lived) in any one of the following areas:
- Greater Sydney
- Northern NSW
- South-East Queensland
- the Illawarra and South Coast region
- the Canberra/Eden-Monaro area.
Why participate?
This study provides participants with an opportunity to recount their histories, stories and anxieties around climate change.
A $25 gift voucher will be provided to interview participants.
The research itself will contribute important information to our understanding of how families experience and manage anxiety around climate change and the impacts of climate-related disasters such as floods and bushfires.
This information and understanding will in turn contribute to the development of support resources and interventions, to better assist those impacted by climate related disasters.
Rebecca is a cutting-edge translational qualitative researcher, mentor and award-winning educator with expertise in the sociologies of health and emotions. With research interests ranging from medicinal cannabis to climate anxiety, she is internationally renowned for bringing sociological insight to complex challenges related to emotions, wellbeing, healthcare and caregiving. Rebecca is a prolific contributor to public debate with more than 75 scholarly publications, as well as news media and creative video productions.
Roger Patulny is a Professor of Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University, and Honorary Associate Professor at The University of Queensland. He has published over 100 academic publications, covering topics around loneliness, social isolation, the sociology of emotions, emotion management, social capital, social inclusion and connection, unemployment and the future of work, social mix in public housing, gendered social networks, volunteering, trust, and digital interaction. He has been a CI on social science grants worth over $1million in funding, including three ARC grants. He has served on the executive board of the Australian Sociological Association. His research has been reported in most major Australian news outlets, and his articles in The Conversation have over half a million reads.
Dr Jordan McKenzie is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Wollongong. His research is largely informed by European social and critical theory, and these perspectives contribute to his current research in the sociology of emotion. More recently, his work has focused on future oriented emotions in perceptions of environmental disaster and apocalypse scenarios. His most recent book is Dystopian Emotions (2021).
Dr Andreas Hernandez